Sex Buddies
by mumbledtalks
Summary: No feelings attached, was what they agreed on.
1. Chapter 1

So, this was originally written in 2014 and I just had to make a huge, HUGE editing with this one because omg I just realized how much of a mess it was back in 2014. This was written when I reached that puberty phase where I cried over handsome guys from my class so please beware of the angst that came within. I'm not responsible for any heart damage caused by this because well, I planned it all along /cackles maniacally like a chicken/ but for any of you who can get away without a single tear, just, congratulation dude!

I'm basically babbling so I think it's time to get on with the story. See you in the next chapter!

Warning: the friends-with-benefits story troupe, some painful sex scene, idk I'm not good with warning I hope this is enough to describe the story.

* * *

Heat met heat, skin met skin, but eyes—eyes never met eyes. That was just how they were, and how they supposed would always be.

The black-haired man only rested his back against the headboard as the smaller blond that was his partner for the night—and recently also any other night—straddled over him; his tender soft knees digging into the white sheets sinfully as he rode the shaft that was impaled into him vigorously like an animal in heat, his hazel eyes blown wide with uncontained pleasure that was pooling in the pit of his stomach. His soft hands rested on his broad shoulders for support as he urgently pushed himself down even deeper, willingly and yet so skillfully meeting the older man's thrust with his humping. His pink lips opened up in a shape of O and it was kind of an absolution when his lovely moans poured out from his throat, all the way from his chest, dripping down like the sweetest unsweetened honey.

He couldn't really contain his tears when the man thrust into him for the countless time with so much force, so much passion. It hurts and he was sure the next moment he woke up he would be sore as fuck but he couldn't help it. There was something—maybe it was his voice, or eyes, or maybe simply his authority—that makes saying no to this man would be an absolute sin. Not that the blond had it in him to say no the man. It was like on drugs; you know it's no good for you but you keep on coming for more, begging for more because you just know that you have basically and unconsciously become painfully addicted. This man was his drug, obviously.

When both had reached their climax, the blond helplessly fell on top of the man's chest as he calmed his raged breathing, his chest fell painfully up and down as his lungs caught on the loss of air. It was when his head fell on his chest did he suddenly had this urge to relish in the warmth, on the calming sensation the other's body always radiated off towards him. His ear fell on top of the older man's left chest, and it was kind of unintentional for him to listen to the soft thudding of his heart; each beat convincing him that the man before him was real and was always be with him and it was kind of a calming thought it slowly lulled him to sleep. It took several seconds to finally realize what he was doing, and when he did, he immediately put both hands on top of that broad chest and shoved himself off of the comfortable embrace (it was not exactly an embrace but whatever) before deftly rolling over to the other side of the bed, carefully not forgetting to grip on the similarly white duvet to hold himself from actually rolling out of the bed and fell face first towards the floor (which would be mentally and physically painful, really).

"S-Sorry..", the blond apologized hurriedly, his hazel eyes casted downwards in embarrassment as his face heated up.

The older man didn't pay him a single glance, "It's okay, Akihito. Did I fuck you that hard that you can't hold yourself up?", he let out a smug smirk at the last statement he let out before swinging one leg out of the bed, followed by another, and it was a millisecond later when he had finally had both legs on the floor, ready to stand up.

"Shut up, Asami.", Akihito spat out bitterly, seemingly trying to sound unamused, but the red hues that streaked across his cheekbones traitorously betrayed him.

Asami just quirked a handsome eyebrow at that before standing up; walking a bit towards the low coffee table that held his phone. Akihito watched him as he nakedly picked up the phone to deftly check on it, his calloused finger stroking on the monitor that lit sufficiently before flicking on something; maybe he was checking his email, Akihito couldn't really guess from his point of view.

"You seem to have a tight schedule for the day.", the blond spoke out of the blue, staring at the duvet that pooled around his feet that seemed to be too interesting to be missed out.

There was a breath of silence, "Yes," Asami answered simply, before pressing that small button on top of the device to lock it before subsequently putting it back on the low table.

Akihito added, almost out of his mind, "Seriously, just—what kind of person you are? You just work on this, and work on that, and even I could see that you don't get enough sleep! Surely, a normal person would sleep 8 hours per day, right? But you—"

"Akihito," Asami let out a heavy sigh, his feet slowly digging onto the carpeted floor on his way towards the bathroom as he put his weight on his spot, "It's already been said in our agreement, right? What I do is none of your business so does what you do to me. That said, I really wish for you to drop that question.", after that, he tightened up his thick lips in a tight line and went to the bathroom, missing the glance of the blond's frown which got deeper than before.

Yes, that's right. No feelings, no kisses, no cuddles, no dates, just no—nothing; because they were only sex buddies. No love or feelings attached. Akihito had known that since the first night they spent together one month ago after both of them accidentally met in one of Asami's night club. Akihito was drunk at that time, the I'm-so-fucking-dizzy-my-head-is-buzzing-my-feet-are-light-and-I-need-someone-to-take-me-home-because-I-feel-so-sluggish-to-do-so-myself kind of drunk and it was kind of fortunate (or unfortunate?) when Asami accidentally caught him right on time when he was about to fall flat on the floor thanks to them alcohol. Akihito honestly couldn't remember much, but what was vivid was the fact that yes, they indeed had sex that fateful night.

 _'I'm highly interested in you, Akihito. But I just want our relationship to be purely based on physical attraction. I fulfill your sex desires, and you fulfill mine. You sure understand that, right? I believe we have a deal'_

It pained Akihito whenever he recalled the things Asami said to him the first morning they woke up together. That was when they decided their relationship was more like friends-with-benefits rather than lovers. They had never even kissed each other. _And that's the issue..._ the blond heavily sighed.

Akihito hadn't been himself lately. He didn't know why but recently he kind of paid more attention to those pair of lips that was Asami's. He often saw it curled up in a smirk, he often saw it stiffly tightening against each other in a grim line, and it was more often for him to actually wonder what it would feel like being on top of his. Call him crazy, or a lunatic, but he had actually fantasized about the kissing scene he wasn't sure would happen between them sooner (or later, to be honest). Would Asami just press his lips against his like a lip-sticking method? Would he let out his tongue? Which would he prefer best: shove it in first or wet his lips first? Would he enjoy tongue tying against another tongue? He knew those obscene thoughts were gonna be the end of him, but he couldn't help it—because no matter how much he tried to block those off of his head, Asami would just come out of nowhere and bring them back with his sinful charm. _That sexy bastard._

When the shower had stopped running, Akihito's eyes immediately slid towards the bathroom door to anticipate the mighty entrance of the occupant of the bath. Truth be told, Asami came out with only a towel covering his nether region, leaving the golden view of his mighty abs visible to the naked eye. The blond didn't realize that he had actually gulped down the nervousness down to the pit of his stomach as he followed a drop of water that trickled down his abdomen, sliding expertly through the lines and edges on the breathtaking abs down to his towel. He immediately turned around to avert his gaze from the bigger man in case he did catch Akihito staring.

He could hear the sound of clothes rustling behind his back; the sounds of clothes getting stretched and the iron of a belt clashing against each other. Asami was really a busy man. Akihito had never figured out why he still had the time to fuck him raw even in the tightest schedule. _Oh well, I guess the stressful day at work must be cooled down with some sex with a sex buddy._

 _Pfft, sex buddy._

"You're not going to take a shower?", Asami suddenly asked him whilst buttoning the buttons on his cuffs.

"I'm sorry I'm too tired for that. Maybe later. You should go. Your whatever-it-is job must be waiting for you.", Akihito scoffed out but seconds later realized he sounded too grumpy for his own liking. Nevertheless, he pulled the duvet over his head, both to cover his body from cold air of dawn and from the piercing stare the man gave away to him so easily.

The only reply he got was that rich chuckle that was produced from that strong throat and the sound of the door closing that followed soon after. It happened so quickly Akihito couldn't really grasp it. Once the bigger presence was finally gone, the blond took his time to pull the duvet off of his head, his striking blond hair peeking out from the comfortable embrace of the blanket as his hazel eyes searched for that one presence he knew was long gone in the dimmed bedroom. It irked him so much when he felt another kind of cold started seeping into his body, through the tender flesh of his muscle before biting him in the bones. He knew it was not from the air, it was not from the breeze that was dancing around him but he knew it was from _that_ wave, that wave of loneliness that came crashing towards the shore and caught him, sweeping him off his feet and breaking his footing loose. Before he knew it, he was drowning, drowning in _that_ wave, but he could not do anything to save himself, could not do anything to cease him from leaving the shore.

He closed his eyes, and let out a shaky sigh.

"I'm cold."

* * *

"I'm not gonna wear this freaking dress, you heard me?!"

It was the umpteenth time Akihito let out a sigh at the sight in front of him: a female model that thought too highly of herself that she thought it was acceptable for her to demand things to the photographers and all the make-up persons just to see at what extent they would go to impress her. The blond just sat still on his spot—the furthest corner of the room of course, away from the crowd and away from the noise—and waited faithfully for the cue to start the photography session—only, the cue never came. _This is going to be a long day_ , Akihito sighed tiredly and patted his own back in the back of his mind.

After a great effort of convincing her, impressing her, and bribing her, the model finally agreed on putting on the damn dress, only with a not-so-small bonus she held up as the condition. Everyone sighed contentedly, something like _finally_ and _it's about goddamn time_ swarming the thin air of the studio when she finally agreed. Akihito took a glance towards his boss and watched his eyes focusing on his phone, his fingers expertly tapping on the monitor as if he was typing something important that the blond was trying to decipher. It was moments later that he found out his boss was actually calculating the money.

It was tiring, it was demanding, but Akihito could not lie when he said he enjoyed the whole job and its demands. He loved the harsh light of the studio, he loved the sound of the shutters being pressed, and he loved every second he used to direct the model to express a certain kind of message through her poses. Basically, he knew he was born to be in this kind of job.

"Okay, great shoot everyone. Have a break for 30 minutes!"

Akihito immediately went to the vending machine at the canteen below the studio and got himself a can of cold coffee. It was hot, coming out from the studio where every harsh lighting was being shot freely like lasers. Furthermore, the canteen itself was packed, the more reasons to drink cold beverages because the crowd and the noise were actually chocking him alive with heat. He clicked the can open and took generous sips before observing the whole room, packed with people from various studios and careers; there were groups of make-up persons, groups of models, or the groups that were the mixed of both. The canteen surely was the place where gossips and rumors spread around easily like oxygen. You could easily get any kind of information you need just by being in the same room, listening to the chatters and conversations that the people in the groups didn't seem to mind to be eavesdropped. Akihito usually was not interested in such things as gossips—moreover having yourself to actually eavesdrop on women's talk—but it was one out of few occasions did his ear catch something that perked up his interest. He was just about to pass a table filled with female models on his way out of the canteen, when one of them mentioned something that he sure as hell would regret if he missed that.

"…married to Asami Ryuichi?"

He felt his hearing sense sharpened as that one certain name was brought up to the conversation. He quietly took a seat just beside their table (which was luckily empty and unoccupied) and sipped his coffee to not look like an eavesdropper. Just as he finally sat comfortable on the plastic chair, he finally realized what stupid thing he was currently doing. He took his face in the cradle of his palms as he opened his mouth to shout—not out loud, but internally—at his stupid antics. What am I doing? He scolded himself internally, but really, he just could not help it. For the umpteenth time, just hearing the name Asami Ryuichi brought this slight discomfort in the pit of his stomach.

When people said his name, it didn't feel right in his ears.

"Wow, seriously?!", one woman spoke cheerfully.

"Yes! They said it is official. That model from studio 1 earlier is going to be engaged to Asami Ryuichi! That young, handsome, almost perfect businessman..", the other responded dreamily.

 _What? Who is going to get engaged to who?!_

"Arghh I'm so _jeally_! Why does a girl like her have the opportunity to be with a man like Asami Ryuichi? He definitely deserves better!", one woman huffed grumpily.

"Yeah, she's very childish and hard to handle. Just because her father is one of Asami Ryuichi's business partner doesn't mean she could get all the fun, does it?"

The group abruptly halted their heated discussion as a sound of a can hitting the floor below became audible in their ears. They immediately ran their eyes towards the source and it was kind of surprising for them to find the familiar blond photographer sitting just behind them with a can of coffee lying on the ground beside his shoes with its content spilling all the caffeine away, poorly abandoned and ignored.

One of the models was actually an acquaintance of Akihito and she watched at the usually soft features in his face tensed up, his hazel pupils drawn in small dots and his face paled up as if the blood just ran cold in his head. She stood up from her table and approached him, the concern obviously lacing her voice, "Takaba – san, are you okay?"

When she touched his shoulder to shake him out of his stupor, however, the blond made a move of jerking away from her touch, surprising even the other female models that sat away from him. He looked at her with his still tensed pupils but when he recognized her face, he tried to neutralize his expression back, which he succeed on, sort of, "Oh! Nana – san! Yes—I'm okay," he stood up slowly before taking in his surroundings, which were currently looking at him as if he just threw a fit, "I will just—go to the bathroom—", at that, he abruptly made his way out of the seats and ran off towards the exit, leaving questioning eyes that bore so many questions on his back.

He did not even realize he was running until he found himself gasping for air the door to the bathroom, his body bent down while he tried to catch his breath from the course of adrenaline that briefly swept across his system. It was kind of a relief when he found no one occupying the bathroom, meaning he could have some time alone for himself and for his own thoughts without anyone noticing.

He took a step towards the vacant bathroom and towards the sink, looking back at his own reflection in the slight dirty mirrors that was hung on the tiled walls. Akihito slowly tore his stare off his own reflection to run the water from the sink, the cool substance that ran through his fingers immediately was comfortable against his too-hot skin. He brought both hands under the tap and cupped the water, splashing his sweating face with it subsequently to cool down the heat that crept up into his head (and cool down his own head in this matter). He lifted up his face slowly and watched as the trickle of water ran down the curves of his face, through the long slide of his nose, and it was then he was calm enough to realize the staccato beating of his heart; only, it was on messy tempo (Basch surely would not be amused).

Akihito leaned against the sink and cooled his head down. He closed his eyes and let the calmness sipped in. _What are you doing Akihito? What or who is he going to engage is none of your business. You two are nothing, why does the fact make you so freaking restless?_

When every question just popped into his head, he slowly started to put all the puzzles together, sticking in one by one facts he knew.

 _First, I want to kiss him. Second, it is kind of hard for me to admit but I did perk up some interest whenever his name is brought into the conversation. And third, I can't seem to calm down when I heard he is going to marry some other girl—_

 _Could I be?_

"No fucking way," he muttered under his breath, the sting behind his eyes felt so painfully real when he clutched that one spot of his left shoulder; his teeth digging into his bottom lip in an attempt to hold in whatever scream he had it in him, "God, there's no fucking way."

He wobbly walked towards an empty tiled wall and put both hands on it, slowly leaning his head that seemed to be too heavy for him to hold up on his own. He banged his head against it, once, twice, thrice, how many times it was he didn't think was enough to clear his head of the sudden realization that suffocated him. He felt as the coldness of the tile started seeping through his skin and he was sort of too dizzy to hold up his standing stance and it was seconds later when he finally decided to let his own body slide down, his knees were the first ones to meet the cold, tiled floor with an audible thud before the whole ground bear his whole weight. Akihito felt the swelling of tears in the small cage of his eyes and it was moments later did he finally realize that it was not enough to hold in the tears; to hold in whatever emotion he was currently feeling that was overwhelming him and was trying to spill out of any kind of barricade he put on around it. The blond watched as his tears fell one by one; each one fell and crashed onto his jeans with a distinct, soft sound of _plop_. He felt his sadness swelled in his chest and it was kind of a reflexive action of him to immediately cover his mouth, to actually cover any kind of sobs or wails or whines he knew would surely come out of him sooner or later.

He bit the inside of his cheek as he sobbed even louder. The inside of his left chest ached with the need to be comforted by someone he knew for sure did not have a heart for him.

 _I've fallen._

* * *

Day turned into night in a blink of an eye, Akihito realized as he looked up to find the silver ray of moonlight shining through the gray clouds that hung over Shinjuku. He let out a tired yawn as he heaved his backpack up his shoulders before finally walking out of the building that was his workplace, finding the clock read the letter 1 AM as he recalled the busy moments and high demands he had to fulfill throughout the day. He damn swore that the next time he was chosen to do jobs like this he would actually go through the list of models first thing before actually accepting the job.

Akihito was still anxious about the news of Asami he heard this afternoon at work. _Should I ask him about it?_ He frowned. _No, there's no fucking way he's gonna tell me about that._

"It's cold.", Akihito mumbled, "I should get some beer before going home.", at that, he strode pass the crowd to the usual place where he bought cheap beer with Kou and Takato. Unfortunately, both of his friends couldn't make it today so he just had to play the lonely guy.

Entering the bar, the distinct smell of alcohol and cigarette abused his nostrils. Akihito had to actually lean away from the place to suck in some fresh air before ducking his head back into the shady environment, his eyes sharpened slowly in the dim hallway to find the bar stool he always sat on whenever he was in this bar. When he found it, however, his eyes immediately lit up, and it did not take him long to find himself walking towards it with a warm smile plastered on his face, finding familiarity with the person who was currently on shift as the bartender that night.

When a stool was taken, the male bartender whipped his head to take a look at the new customer, and it was as if he was on autopilot when he stretched out an equally warm smile, "Takaba - san, the usual is it?", he asked, briefly halting his own action of wiping invincible dirt on a glass of beer he was currently nursing.

"Yes.", the blond smiled back, though his smile slowly faltered away when the thoughts of Asami came swimming back to the back of his head, reminding him of the situation that drowned him in doom.

When his drink had arrived, Akihito defiantly grabbed the handle and drank half of it in one gulp. The bartender looked at him, a little bit surprised, "Something went bad, Takaba - san?"

"Yeah," Akihito smiled dryly, "Something bad like.., realizing something that you don't want to realize or you are not supposed to realize."

"Sounds bad," he leaned on his elbows on the long table to observe his blond customer even further, "care to tell me?"

Hazel eyes ran towards the worried expression of the bartender that had become his friend since the second or third time he came there, and he let out a forced chuckle. He just sighed, "I... might be in love with someone right now."

"Oh my God, seriously?", he chirped delightfully, "Then you should be happy! There's nothing that's happier than falling in love!"

"No…", the blond ran his fingers through the messy strands that was his own hair before adding, "At least I know that I fall for a wrong guy."

Suddenly, the buzz from his phone jerked his hip away, tickling the inside of his pocket. Carefully, Akihito fished his phone and took the buzzing thing out for the whole world to see. The ID number that showed on the screen made his eyes widen real wide.

'Asami Ryuichi - 1 message'

Nervously, he touched the screen and opened the message, feeling his heart thumped faintly in his chest.

[ Takaba, meet me at the usual hotel right now. ]

Reading that, Akihito's mouth turned into a real frown. He touched the reply option and typed furiously on his touch-screened phone.

[ If you just want to have sex, I'm not in the mood today. ]

Not even five minutes later, another reply was sent to his phone. Irritated, Akihito opened the text message almost immediately.

[ If you're not going willingly, I'm going to pick you up—with force. ]

Akihito felt like laughing. _This guy dares to pick me up even though he doesn't know where I am right now?_ In a mocking attitude, he replied.

[ Pft, like you know where I am right now. ]

With a satisfactory smile, he sipped the beer down his throat like a champion. The next reply he got made his heart stop though.

[ You're at your usual bar right? I can send my men to get you. ]

Akihito groaned. Yup, truth be told, Asami really had his men following him everyday, even without him noticing. He didn't know what kind of reason he used to follow him though.

[ Bastard. I'm going. ]

After replying, he put his phone back into his pocket and paid, not even forgetting to excuse himself.

The blond jogged his way out of the bar and breathed out, feeling the nervousness once again filling his system and draining it out like an annoying leech. He stood still for a moment amongst the crowd that tried to cocoon him, and looked up towards the sky in time to witness the full revelation of the moon amidst the thick clouds. He closed his eyes to think, and when he finally made up his own mind, he opened them.

 _Maybe I will just tell him to fuck himself._

"Bastard, what do you want?", Akihito huffed out grumpily as he spotted the familiar businessman standing not too far from the entrance, his cool and aloof gentleman stance surely could not be mistaken as someone else's.

Asami didn't answer at the sudden outburst of the blond. Instead, he just strode towards him and shot a hand to pull him. "He-Hey! Wha—Asami!"

The man didn't turn his head towards him. He just kept dragging the blond down to the elevator, up to the guest room's corridor, and into the room that he had bought for the night. Upon arriving there, he swapped the key card really fast and opened the door in one swift motion, pushing Akihito roughly inside. Not letting any minute passed, he immediately pinned the photographer hard against the door.

"Shit Asami! Have you gone mad?! It hu—!", before he could even finish his curses, Asami silenced him with a napkin that came out of nowhere.

The next thing he knew was Asami loosening up his tie and tied it around his wrists, bounded them together and immobilizing Akihito with it. The expression Asami wore at that time was terrifying, it was as if Asami intended on _killing_ him.

Akihito protested. He really did. But the stronger man didn't even bother it one bit. He just progressed towards the blond's hardened member down there and gave it one, powerful pump. Akihito choked on his own breath as Asami continued his ministrations, sliding down his palm towards the base of Akihito's cock and slid right up towards the hilt, brushing his thumb harshly on the tip. Pearls of cum was already swelling on the tip within minutes, and Akihito couldn't hold it anymore.

Muffled cries were like the music in the background as they finally proceeded onto the bed, taking off their clothes along the way. Asami stripped Akihito down in one swift move and threw his remaining clothes onto the cold floor below them. Akihito watched as the older man hover over him, _frightened_ as the older man hover over him, and he could not really do anything useful when Asami had all the control over his body, pumping and finger-fucking him roughly like some madman that knows no boundaries.

He watched him as he prepared his own cock, pumping it up and down until it hardened underneath his touch, before finally guiding it towards the mouth of Akihito's abused pucker, pink, and hot, and swelling underneath the harsh limelight the older man's stare was giving it.

"Mmnff! Mmffn—", the blond cried helplessly beneath the man's hold, feeling the panic started washing its ice bucket over his head.

Asami spared him one, cold glance before subsequently placing the head of his penis to the wide opening of Akihito's asshole and with little effort, he finally popped the head into the inside of the blond's hole. The stretching session felt incredibly painful. Akihito cried out, screamed, begged even for whatever madness that was clouding the older man's head to stop because it felt so _damn_ hurts that something inside him started to urge for him to shove Asami out because he could not hold up. It felt so unrealistically painful he felt like he was dying.

Asami was terrifying. Both Asami and his feelings towards him were scaring him.

The older man's golden eyes widened a little bit when a trickle of blood was visible coming out from the hole he was fucking, the distinct color of a deep red staining the whiteness of the sheets that laid under them. Akihito vaguely felt Asami slowing down his pace then, even placing his hands on the more comfortable spots on his tights to ease out the pain he felt blooming from his asshole. The sudden concern that layered those actions ticked his curiosity off and Akihito dared himself to peek through his tights, accidentally meeting and locking eye-to-eye with the dominant man. It took a heartbeat before Asami finally took back his own pace and thrust even harder into the hole that sucked him in, right into the hilt and into that spot that knew how to paint the color called 'blank whiteness' all over Akihito's mind. He tried to hold himself awake for a few more minutes but it was futile as he found himself sinking and sinking even further to the depths of darkness which he soon recognized as the action of fainting.

* * *

When he woke up the next day, he could feel all the soreness on his body screamed for him to be treated. He woke up slowly yet steadily, considering his aching ass. He grunted out when he moved his body, and the sight of his bruised wrists came into his view. That brought a lot of bitter memories from the night before. He could still feel the wildness in Asami's embraces, not, they were not embraces. They were just plain fuck, like he was fucking an animal without brain. _What the fuck happened to him?_ Akihito wondered.

When the sound of shower stopped running, he immediately ran his eyes to see Asami in a white towel as usual; walking out casually. But when his eyes registered the sight of Akihito waking up, he immediately halted his strides, and only stared at the person who's on the bed like he was some kind of an alien.

"Asami..", Akihito called faintly. Even his voice had become hoarse, shit.

Asami only turned his back and picked up his garments from yesterday, wearing it afterwards in one quick motion. Akihito only observed his every movements, starting from the way he buttoned up his shirt, wearing his suit pants then tux, and gelling back his hair into the work mode.

Just as Akihito was about to say something, Asami opened up the conversation for him, "I wish for us to not be seeing each other anymore."

Akihito fell silent at that, and he simply let his jaw fell open as he gave up on his own word. He vividly felt the loud thumping of his heart, the loud rushing of his blood just behind his ears as he got this sudden knock on the head to wake up from his stupor, unintelligently blurting out, "Huh? Why? Asami, if there's something you feel wrong here, just tell me! What's with the sudden—"

"I'm going to be engaged next week."

He swore he heard his own stomach falling onto the cold, hard ground, crushing and tumbling down unattended at the harshness of the voice that accompanied those killer words. Akihito watched as Asami watched him back, his shoulders stiff, his stance unwavering. He spoke those words out and he meant it. He _fucking_ meant every single word of it.

Akihito laughed.

"So the rumors are true about you, huh? I heard she's a model. Maybe she could be an actual good fuck for your marriage life in the future.", Akihito spat out, the bitterness that was left behind in his tongue tasted so awful he suddenly had this urge to vomit. But he held his posture, he held _that_ gaze.

Asami didn't say anything.

Then the usual scenario played out.

The sound of the usual black loafers hitting the floor, and the sound of door closing came from his back. When the bigger presence was gone, Akihito sat up and stared at the white door for about five minutes.

He sat up and stared, stared and tried to breathe easy. He felt the coldness of the situation started abusing his naked body and he suddenly felt this need to cover up, so he pulled the duvet over his shoulders for warmth; it did not help.

Hazel eyes ran towards the wide double-window that graced the wall opposite of him and watched as the billion star-like lights enlightening the beautiful city of Tokyo, watched them shimmering and never died, unlike the passion they had the first nights before when they embraced each other.

Akihito pulled in his legs and rested his chin on his knees, hugging himself tight in the hold of his small arms to give some fruitless comfort to himself. He lets out a shaky breath, before muttering out loud, more to himself than to anyone else, "Shit. He even made my whole body aches, that bastard."

He felt the sting crawling its way behind his eyes but he did not do any kind of effort to hold it in so he let it loud, let the tears to flow freely through the heated surface of his cheeks. He looked up to the darkened ceiling above his head and watched it stood still, unwavering—just like that man, mocking him.

"Fuck this," he accidentally let out a sob, before finally spilling all his heart over his own hands, "My heart aches more."


	2. Chapter 2

It's been soooo long since the last time I uploaded the first chapter of this story. And for that, I truly apologize beforehand! So here it is, the second chapter! Originally, this story was supposed to be a one-shot, but as I finished writing the first chapter, this being a one-shot just didn't sit right to me, and so I wrote this into two parts. Buuuuut, as I edited the second chapter (which I wrote years ago), I decided to just cut the chapter into two parts and therefore this story would probably has 3 chapters for the main story and one for extra. So, hopefully, you guys could wait for me on that!

Warning: self-beta'd. rusty writings!

I do not own the Finder Series.

Happy reading!

* * *

After checking out from the hotel, Akihito did not feel like going anywhere that day. The crowd that grew even merrier within seconds right in front of him dizzying his head, churning his stomach upside down with the intense urge to vomit the already nonexistent remnants of whatever that had been in his stomach. He tried to stand still and walk, walk like any other person on the street, walk like he _had not been broken_ , but he failed immensely—not with the bloodshot eyes and the wavering stance, not with a line of mouth that seemingly had had _more than enough_ to even hold a straight line. He did not have to think twice when his feet had brought him halfway back towards his apartment, the rundown building he used as his _home_ (a.k.a a place where his heart should have settled in. Alas, he ironically could not find _it_ anywhere in that place—probably because someone had stolen _it_ ).

He hated, _loathed_ the fact that he could not sleep a wink last night. It was annoying, you know, the headaches you would have the next morning you were conscious when you were sleep-deprived—not to mention the massive weight you had to endure _just_ to open your eyes because they were just _too afraid_ of the sun. He hated it when he could not sleep properly—considering the fact that he was indeed a busy (kind of) person—but the vivid memories of last night kept him more awake than he had always been in his entire life. His ears listened to the soft ticking of the clock on the wall, and he suddenly recalled the seconds that passed when it happened. The words that the man threw at him felt like cold water, like reality; a reality that was cold enough to finally wake him up from his stupor—from his dream. A dream that he was not supposed to have, but he had it, anyway. Do not get him wronged, he was never a man of dreams. Akihito would live in reality, and stay real like he was supposed to do.

But if staying in that _damn_ reality meant he have to face the fact that he could no longer be involved in that man's life—even if he was only considered as a small thing that filled in the blank spaces of that man's secret life and affairs—then maybe, _maybe_ , living in a dream was better.

Akihito had known from the start that being involved with that man only meant bad news. Sure, he knew Asami was a businessman, a very successful businessman in whatever industry he ran in with the whole world in his hands. His face was reflected in every media, every broadcasted surface, every corner, that even made running away from him seemed to be a stupid idea because there was no corner that could be hidden from him, him and his million pair of eyes and his million ways. He was the man who leads, who conquers, and Akihito knew he got this dark side within him that only God knows what.

Still, he could not prevent himself from falling even _deeper_. The brief thought of seeing Asami standing on the altar in a clean, white suit with anyone but him beside him only got his blood boiled, his bones stoned, his flesh scrunched, and his heart drenched in adrenaline and _fucking_ overwhelming emotions of wrath. Because that seemed to be so, so unfair. Akihito felt like knowing Asami more than that woman. He knew how Asami touches someone; he was harsh, but then soft, cold and then warm. Akihito remembered how calloused his fingers were, how stern his lips were, how bright his golden eyes shone whenever he looked at him, only at him—as if he was the only person that mattered to him that the thought alone brought back unwanted feelings within him. Akihito knew how he would lit his cigarette whenever the night got colder, or on a particular good night drowning himself in his favorite borboun. He knew how deep his baritone voice was, how Asami would lick his lips even though it was not chapped just to let him know that he wanted him. He knew them all by heart, counting the facts like calculating the years it took for a giant star to reform, but then perhaps minor details and unimportant things such as those were not enough to convince other people that this _shit_ mattered to him than anything else.

Akihito let out a heavy sigh. This had been a shitty day indeed. Not only had he gotten his heart broken by a man who did not even know it, but he also had to get his shit together and get on with his life as if any of this had never happened.

He looked up to the sky and the clouds that hung above his head and watched them as they watched him, moving ever so slowly like the world around him. Bits of memories of last night occurrence came back and his heart thumped with a dull ache. Perhaps what he regretted the most was not the end of this.

Perhaps what he regretted the most was the fact that he did not have the chance to rip this irritating feeling off him and throw it right on the man's face so that he would know just what he had broken—if he ever cared, that is.

Akihito just shrugged off the sadness that kept bugging him like a sore thumb since the moment he stepped out of the hotel. He needed something to refresh his mind, something that could actually get his mind off a certain man he knew. And the first thing that popped into his mind was a fun hangout with his friends. But that seemed impossible now.

He had not contacted Kou and Takato for some time now. They had been busy this entire week, that was why they rarely communicated lately. Akihito was not even sure those two, crazy guys would still remember him.

He shook his head briefly to let the idea go as he made his way through the crowded street and dragged his feet through the remaining distance between him and his familiar apartment building. He paced up his walk, for what he did not even know—considering that he was tired and all—but the need to actually get into his apartment and throw himself onto the bed nagged him painfully on the head. And so, he speed-walked, and before he knew it, he was already jogging up the metal stairs to reach his apartment that unfortunately resided on the third floor. He had fished for his keys before he even reached the door to his apartment and he did not even waste any more time to slip it in the keyhole and worked for it to unlock the door, which opened with an audible 'creak' for anyone to hear.

The first thing he realized when he got himself into his own establishment was the fact that most of, many of the lights were on, which was weird because he had been out all this time and why would he waste electricity bills on lights when he wasn't even home? Before he could figure it out, though, it was kind of a finality when his ears caught the distinct sound of voices—voices that he somehow recognized but still unsure about because of how distant they sounded. Then with pure hesitation and carefulness, he skillfully tiptoed towards the source before slowly lifting his backpack up as a weapon in case an unidentified person(s) broke into his house.

As he rounded the corner and neared the area of where his small kitchenette was located, he saw one, no, _two_ shadows. His heartbeat quickened as he brought himself even closer towards the crime scene, eyes sharpening their gaze as they tried to focus on what was going on, and it weirded him out greatly when they found out the two shadows were currently busying themselves with... _cup noodles_?

Slowly, he brought his backpack down onto the floor, and with a resolute thud, he finally made his way towards them, feet still warily stepping onto the floor as he greeted, hesitantly, "Um... Hey..."

"Aki-chan?!", the familiar voice greeted him back, and before the blond could register whose voice that was, the shadows turned around to face him, only to show him the familiar faces that he really wanted to see at the moment.

A wide grin split across his face then, and it was seconds later when Akihito realized he was already running towards the two guys who were still bewildered by his presence there and gave them a tight bearhug, "Kou! Takato! What the fuck! Guys!", he half-shouted excitedly, not really caring about the unintelligible words he spoke out as his heart swelled with undeniable happiness, his mind was finally at peace for the first time that week.

"Yo, Aki!", Takato shouted just as excitedly, ruffling his blond head vigorously like it had been decades since he touched it.

Kou joined in on the excited duo then, hugging Akihito with as much intensity as he had been hugged, "Where the hell have you been? We couldn't contact your phone last night!", the black-haired guy pulled back just enough to inspect his long-gone friend, before finally letting go and dragged him all the way from the kitchen towards the living room, "What happened?", he asked, the worry that was etched across his face was also so obvious in his voice.

Akihito sat across from Kou then, shrugging his shoulders, "It's been really tough without you guys. I will tell you later. Anyway, how do you get my spare keys?"

"You gave it to us since you moved into this apartment you idiot," Takato responded blatantly as he came out from the kitchen with his and Kou's warm cup noodles in his holds, subsequently joining the other two on the floor, "Anyway, could you just tell us right now? We're really curious about the reason why you suddenly went missing," he sat down and gave one cup to the black-headed, adding sarcastically, "It's like, we're missing half of the population of the people in Tokyo, you know."

It was something that was so unfunny that it was worth a snort, but Akihito could not find it in him to react that exact way. Instead, he looked up to the two guys in front of him, whose eyes and faces spoke volumes about how ready they were to hear whatever it was that was going to come out of his mouth, before letting out another heavy sigh for the umpteenth time that day. He let his shoulders dropped in a slump while bringing his fingers to rub the bridge of his nose—the tension from today's _highlight of the day_ had really gotten into his head.

Unbeknownst to him, the two men watched him and all his movements, all gestures just screamed something like _I've had more than enough_ and other suicidal thoughts that they were too afraid to conjure in their heads. So, after looking back at each other for a moment, Kou finally decided to speak, "Aki-chan," he was kind of glad when the aforementioned guy responded to his call, "We need to know, please? After all you're our friend. Be it happiness, or sadness; ups and downs—we have always been together, right?" Akihito looked silent for a moment that Kou decided to add up, "you are a part of us, a family. So please," he took hold one of Akihito's sweaty palm and gave it a gentle squeeze, "let us in."

Kou let go of his hand before sliding backwards a bit, giving Akihito as much space as he needed to ready himself to talk. Takato sat silent beside him, his mouth tightly shut but his eyes comforted him more than any words that could possibly come out from his mouth. Akihito watched them as they waited—waited for him to let his whole heart out right in front of them—and the sight of them being so _damn_ sincere and caring towards him was more than enough to melt the last piece of resistance he put around his heart away. He closed his eyes and sucked in a breath, breathing it out, before nodding his head briefly and spoke, "When I got that Sion membership card from my boss I—kind of got carried away and got drunk that night," he raised his eyes for a bit to inspect their reactions, and seeing that they were unbudging from their seats, he went on, "then I met this man—um…, Asami Ryuichi —and we…, uhm, kind of—slepttogether..", he said the last part hurriedly, as if a log just magically appeared in his throat and choking him whilst tumbling down all the words that he had perfectly planted on his tongue. He squeezed his eyes shut, palms already clenching a handful of jeans tightly on his lap, but no harsh comment or any gasps could be heard coming from in front of him. He stole a glance upwards and it was both surprising and delighting as well to know that his friends still seemed unfazed—receiving all the facts that spilled out from his mouth like warm cups of coffee in the morning. He looked at the silent Takato and it was relieving when he gave him an encouraging look, a slight smile that was etched on his lips almost undiscovered by the dimmed lights of the room. Akihito nodded once again, probably for Takato to let him know that he would continue, before swallowing down the lump that was suddenly built inside his throat and continued, "Since then, our relationship somehow developed from mere strangers to sex buddies. You know, those kinds of relationships where you meet the other person just when you want to have sex… sort of," he bit his lower lip at that.

It finally dawned on him when he retold other people how it actually felt. He suddenly recalled their first night, how they actually met, and it was kind of painful to be suddenly reminded by the warm pair of golden eyes that once searched for his hazel ones in the darkness of the hotel room. It felt so soothing, so calming, that it made his heart torn painfully at the difference in between then and now. He felt the salty tears stung in the back of his eyes and he reflexively bit his lip even harder, preventing any kind of sobs that could possibly come out for once he let them out he was sure he could not stop. Akihito was back on staring down at his own lap that it took him a moment to finally realize that his whole body was trembling and a warm, comforting palm was patting him on his back, drawing small circles to calm the loud, painful thumping of his heart that seemed to have just enough of _emotions_. He took a deep breath before continuing, painfully aware of the possibility of the shakiness in his voice, "It was so sudden, but then I felt something different and alien whenever I was with him. I suddenly wanted to kiss him, so, so much—to not only have sex but make… something that lasts more than sex instead. It scared me. I feel like I'm starting to get attached to him. I want to know more about him. But it is wrong because we are only sex buddies and sex buddies don't do anything to know each other—", his voice broke then, trembling with emotions that slowly yet surely broke out from the cage he had put around them. He felt one tear ran down his cheek and he wiped it vigorously, totally enraged by the fact that it _dared_ to flow out.

"Aki…," Takato called his name softly, reaching out a hand to join Kou's in comforting their blond friend.

A gasp left his mouth before he even knew it, and it was against his will when everything he had kept in just suddenly flowed out, his chest ached vividly from holding back for so long. Akihito rubbed the bridge of his nose before continuing, "Yesterday, we met up at the usual hotel and we did it," he looked up in time for his friends to see the glimmering sadness that resided in his burning hazel eyes. Kou looked at him sympathetically before gently urged him to continue, so he did, "The next time I woke up, he was already ready to leave," Takato scooted closer, "then he simply told me that—", the sobs grew heavier the more Akihito remembered those words, the words that felt so hot like a burning knife it scalded the sensitive skin off his bones.

"He told me that—H–He is going to be engaged—next week— ", the sobs then turned into cries as soon as he finished his sentence.

Kou and Takato immediately went to his aid when he let out uncomfortable hiccups between the cries, his mouth struggled fruitlessly to gasp in the loss of air. Kou took hold of the trembling shoulders that belonged to the blond sitting next to him and urged him to sit up straight, "Oh God—Aki... Really? Come on, it may not be that bad," Akihito went back to stare at his hands that were on his lap as Kou added, "everything is going to be okay— "

"What's going to be okay?!", Akihito snapped suddenly, his eyes burning with hot anger as he spat, "He's going to be someone's husband for God's sake! And there's nothing I can do that can stop him—not even if I tell him that I love him!"

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Akihito immediately realized what was happening to him. Everything suddenly felt more real to him when the reality itself came down to embrace the restless feeling within him. _I love him?_ Akihito repeated in his head, "oh God—", it finally dawned on him, "motherfuck—I _love_ him."

Okay, maybe it was physical attraction. But, love? That was certainly a dangerous idea that Akihito knew he would not like elaborating. Love was when you commited, when you stayed through the ups and downs for a certain someone. It was heavy, it was such a responsibility that he knew it was not his forté, but after hearing his own declaration… it suddenly became much clearer in his head.

"I love him," Akihito choked once again as he looked up to eye his friends, his hazel eyes glinted in fear as he once again repeated, "guys, I love him!"

"Aki-chan," Takato was the one who called him out through the silence with that soothing voice of his, silently trying to reach out the inner side of him that was so scared to be reached out, "hey, it's not a bad thing, okay?", he coaxed the blond to look back at him and it kind of broke his heart a bit when he saw the usual cheerful eyes now looked so wounded, "it is love—it is not something to be afraid of. Afraid of the pain, maybe, but not of the love," Akihito watched him thoughtfully as he paused for him to understand, and when a breath was passed in between the silence, Takato added, "when you realize it is love, you know it is worth it, Aki."

It took him a moment to understand the real meaning behind those words and when he did, he calmed down much somehow. He averted his gaze away from Takato to look at Kou, who was still surprised judging by his expression by his sudden outburst, and immediately felt the need to apologize, "Kou, I'm sorry for suddenly yelling at you."

"No, it's okay Aki," Kou smiled, "It's my insensitivity that was to blame. And besides— ", he leaned backwards on his hands before adding, "now I know this is not something superficial."

It was outstanding, how these two gentlemen in front of him understood him and accepted everything that was him wholeheartedly. Something like acceptance, or understanding got him smiling weakly towards them, the trail of tears that was dried under the light felt like past then. He whispered, "thanks."

"Now, back to the topic at hand," Takato's stern voice brought the group back into the actual discussion, "What did he tell you exactly last night?"

Akihito quirked an eyebrow at the sudden sharpness that was coming from Takato (since he knew Takato was one of those annoying dense as fuck kids that practically did not care about the smallest details), but he answered anyway, "He only said something like 'we shouldn't see each other anymore'," the blond recited carefully, as if the words were dangerous enough to bite him back in the ass if he spoke it any wrongly, "—and then he told me that he is getting engaged." It was at the end of his sentence did he realize that remembering that was not as painful as the first time he did it. Talking to his friends really had a great impact on him. He was glad nevertheless.

Kou thought about his answer carefully before asking, "Has he told you about… you know, his feelings towards you?", that caught Akihito's attention immensely and the black-headed immediately felt the need to elaborate, "I mean, even though he said that you two should stop seeing each other anymore, there must be an actual reason of _why_ you two shouldn't see each other anymore, right?"

"Well," Akihito gave it a brief thought, "maybe he doesn't want to be rumored to have a brief affair with me?"

Takato picked up his abandoned cup of noodles before commenting, "that could be true," he spooned the noodles carefully only to watch it slip away from his plastic spoon, "but then, we are talking about Asami Ryuichi, right? Never know anything fishy coming from that guy except the fact that he was a _rich-ass_. He could just pay off the media and say _sayonara_ to any kind of gossip that could do him harm, couldn't he?"

Akihito and Kou only watched as Takato finally succeeded on spooning some noodles before gulping them down his throat. The object of their observation, however, quickly turned his attention back towards them, and added, "my point is," he put his cup of noodles down, "I can't see the benefit of him casting you away. I mean, if he just wants to have a healthy, happy marriage life without some affairs then maybe he could just tell you to stop meeting him for _fucking_ reasons," the blond snorted while Takato winked, "get it, lad?"

"Yeah…", Kou clasped his hands together, "that could also be true. I'm with Takato. So, has he?"

Akihito thought about it a little, before subsequently shaking his head, "No… he had never told me about his personal life, of course his feelings included. And I don't think he would ever tell me that."

"Then I don't think this problem has ended.", Kou stated, "There was still a tie that bonds the two of you. His reason to cast you out is still unclear, and that's not how you end a relationship."

"And the Akihito I know won't stop fighting till he gets the answer he deserves, don't you think so?", Takato added as a giant grin broadened underneath his nose, his eyes filled with determination for him.

It was the hopes that these guys just gave him that made three fourth of his burden vanished away to the very thin air. He watched at the people who brought him back to stand at his two feet again, and smiled warmly, "Guys… thanks. I—I know I can do this with you both."

"Hey, it's no problem," Kou grinned, "So what will you do next? Will you call him or text him or maybe confront him?"

"No, I wouldn't do any of that.", Akihito sighed, "I don't think I'd ever need to do that."

"Why? Don't you want to fight for him until everything's clear?", Takato spoke with a little uncertainty coloring his voice. His eyebrows eventually furrowed into a curvy line that could only express confusion.

"If fate says so, I will eventually meet him. And when that time comes…", he wiped all his sadness away; facing the other people with a gentle smile plastered under his nose, "I will fight for him."

And when the conversation ended wholly, he knew he could finally face that man.

* * *

It was another tiring day at the studio. Takaba Akihito was currently reluctantly setting up his camera on his tripod while the crowded crews and staffs around him were getting restless. The assigned model was late, again. They had delayed the photo shoot for about 30 minutes just to wait for her, and her high-pitched voice only apologized lightly through the phone. The blond just sighed, whilst playing with his camera casually. _What does she take this job for?_

It was about ten minutes later when the giant door at the corner of the room was opened from the outside, indicating that _someone who was supposed to come in on time_ finally arrived. Pairs of eyes immediately ran towards the source of the ruckus as the familiar high-pitched voice that was heard through the studio phone earlier greeted the whole studio, "I'm so sorry everyone!" Her tardiness did not seem to faze anyone, however, as all Akihito saw from his point of view were only sighs of relief. Even his boss did not seem to care about the delay of the scheduled of the photo session as he only came to the girl and greeted her appreciatively.

She was a beauty (of course, she was a model) Akihito realized, with brown curly hair tied into a loose ponytail. She had a small figure for a girl but he could not deny the fact that she got curves at every perfect spot—it was no question as to why people often thought of her as sexy. She had dainty feet and elegant fingers, soft skin and no acnes. She was actually the ideal girl.

Well, despite the fact that she was tardy and seemed to take this job half-heartedly (which was an aspect Akihito did not like about her), she was perfect.

The stylists and the make up persons immediately took her to the dressing room to get changed into the assigned clothing while from the corner of his eyes a middle-aged woman that was also her manager was busy talking to his boss, probably explaining the million useless excuses as to why they were late to the photo session. His boss did not seem to mind though, judging by the fact that he only shrugged her off with a smile while scratching the back of his head timidly like some friendly American old man (though it was no doubt that he would most likely cuss the woman out when they were done and gone from the studio. Backstabbing guys).

Akihito was suddenly jerked away from playing with his camera when the sound of heels clicking on the floor was heard throughout the spacious studio. He turned his face towards the source of the sound, only to find himself dumbstruck at the woman who strode confidently away from the dressing room towards the photo booth, her cheeks the color of a lovely rose as her eyelashes kissed them softly when she blinked. His hazel eyes followed her every movements as she greeted her manager, giggling at one moment to another at some comment the middle-aged woman spoke to her. She was dressed in some dress that looked as fluffy as herself, the color of the sun itself seemed to be drenched and molded into a suit that matched her oh-so-finely. Her hair was loosely tied in a braid—a nude red ribbon tied them all up in a lovely seal. She had white teeth as she opened her mouth, cute dimples as she smiled, and her voice was the sounds of every lullaby the sirens would sing. She was gorgeous, in every way possible. A true beauty with or without make up.

Realizing he had stared too long, Akihito ripped his gaze away from the model and went back to his camera, adjusting some effects here and there for the succession of today's photoshoot.

It was against his will, however, when whispers and gossips started swirling hotly just behind his back, the staffs and crews that just came out from the background after working on her for the shoot started whispering and talking about unwanted topics, so unwanted that Akihito actually strained his ears just to catch on on what they were talking about.

"She is the one, isn't she?"

"The lucky girl?"

"Yup, the one who's going to be an Asami."

They kept going on until he could not hear them anymore, did not want to strain his ears to hear them anymore. He kept his mouth in a silent grim as his thoughts consumed him, his hazel eyes blown open in shock but not exactly directed at anywhere in particular. He did not even realize that he was gripping his camera in a tight, crushing grip until the voice of his boss rang throughout the studio to cue the photo session to start.

 _She is the model who is going to get engaged to Asami?_ At that, Akihito brought his vision back to focus, only to find himself staring at the woman who was currently on the limelight of the studio.

It took him quite a surprise, however, when he realized that the model was currently looking back at him; her blue jade irises looking up just in time to meet his hazel ones. For a moment they just stayed there, time stilled as they were engaged in an unavoidable eyecontact, and it was kind of brief but Akihito swore she lifted a knowing smile on her lips upon seeing him—as if she knew just what was going on inside his head, as if she knew just how broken and screwed up he was inside because of one man they both knew. Before he could find out which was which, unfortunately, the woman immediately broke her attention on him and set the new one on the cameras instead, getting ready on her actual job at the studio as the pose director called her.

The blond also focused his attention on his camera then, fiddling mindlessly on the angles and other photography stuffs but then a thought just kept bugging on his mind, chewing at his brain annoyingly to get noticed, and it was seconds later did he finally sigh in defeat, realizing that it was kind of pointless because he knew more than anyone else that his mind was anywhere but here.

 _Does she know about my relationship with Asami?_

There were possibilities, he thought, but then why would she care about some petty affairs if she would have the real deal as her legal wedded husband soon? Akihito sighed, before getting back on the appropriate position, finally being able on focusing on his own job as he got that annoying thought into the open air of his head.

He set the camera to catch the model at just the right angle, the lenses focusing under his deft fingers to catch even the smallest details a camera could ever provide. Through the lenses, Akihito could see how bright she smiles, how her presence alone could lit up the whole studio just by hearing her giggles. The theme for that day was 'happiness', and the blond could actually see that all the smiles and laughs were for work. But it was good, anyway—they didn't look that fake.

The pose director that stood just in front of him (but not exactly in front of him, you know, to not cover up the model from the cameras' view) started leading her poses then, and it took him by a major surprise when the lady director asked, "Mayako – san, are you happy?"—her voice coming out just a little bit louder than the noises made in the backgrounds for the model to hear.

What replied her was a smile that he thought was genuine; the kind of smile that stretched your mouth to push against your cheeks—the kind of smile that brought stars on the night sky to shame compared to the twinkling happiness that swam across the bright orbs that were your eyes. The model posed then, a smile so bright it might rival the sun etching across her face, and it was with wild confidence and determination did she open her mouth to speak, "Of course! I'm going to be engaged next week, how can I not be tremendomously happy?"

Her declaration brought a warm happiness throughout the studio, witnessing such a pure and naive act of a woman proudly speaking off on her next step of life, but then Akihito could not find it in him to actually cheer back for support. Instead, he found himself sinking on his seat; he could even feel his heart crashing onto the lowest pit of his stomach with a distinct sound—the sound of the end the world; the sound of his life draining out of life itself and ran cold.

He hissed a little when he felt his knuckles gone white from gripping onto the camera too hard—hissed a little even more as another part of his broken heart fell down for the umpteenth time in an uneven crash. Akihito took her pictures begrudgingly as he nursed himself back to health, telling himself over and over again that _he could get through this_ and _everything would be fine in the end._ The photoshoot felt like it could last for decades, and the blond wondered then just how long he could hold on watching the woman that would steal the love of his life away from him before he actually broke down to pieces.

It was sooner than he had expected, however, when the familiar voice of his boss echoed across the studio again, the words he spoke brought both relief and dread to his guts, "Great job everyone! Unfortunately, this is the last day Mayako Yuri – san work with us," upon hearing the disappointed sounds from the crew, his boss continued, "Let us have a little cheer for her engagement next week."

Everybody in the studio cheered delightfully and gave her a round of applause, congratulating her on her engagement with her bowing in an attempt to show her gratefulness towards the support. On the other hand, however, Akihito still couldn't find it in him to be happy for her. While everyone was still busying themselves cheering for her, he instead worked on tidying up his camera, slowly yet carefully unplugging each parts of his sweetheart before putting them into the bag that sat just beside his stool. He was so focused on his task that he didn't even realize a figure that walked towards him, even got himself shocked out of his bones when said figure stuck the cold surface of a cold coffee can on his cheeks to make her appearance.

Akihito quickly whipped his head towards his offender, only to be met with the familiar, haunting blue jade eyes, who only pulled back a little before smiling, saying, "Takaba - san, right?", when the blond could only numbly nod, her smile got even wider and she proceeded on handing him the coffee can, which he also numbly accepted.

"Um... Thanks?", he said, and it cringed him down to the core when she said no more. Sensing that she wasn't going to do anything any time soon, he clicked opened the seal and busied himself on gulping down the coffee in the can down his throat, trying so hard to shield himself away from the awkwardness that started slowly seeping between them.

Yuri only watched him as he drank his beverage, and she waited a generous amount of time to speak, not actually wanting him to choke on his own drink in surprise. So, when he finally came down from his extreme drinking, she finally got him to look her in the eyes, and started, "I want to talk to you. Can we talk somewhere, uh, private?"

When it came out as a low whisper, Akihito could only quirk up an eyebrow, sensing something unusual and suspicious coming from her invitation. But then again, his curiosity got the best of him, and he couldn't really win the battle against that. So, letting out a heavy sigh he didn't realize he had been holding for awhile, he finally put down the can on the stool just beside his camera bag, before cueing for her to lead him out from the crowd, out and away towards the dressing room which was deserted and empty.

Just as they arrived there, the blond didn't waste any minute of his precious time, and he immediately started, "What do you want to talk about?"

Yuri was just closing the door when the question was thrown at her. She turned around then, facing her talking companion as he stared at her so intently in the eye, before letting out a sigh. She had expected this though. Sporting herself a sweet, business smile, she spoke, "You sure know my soon-to-be husband, right? Asami Ryuichi."

Upon hearing that name on her lips, Akihito immediately stilled his movements, his hazel eyes blown wide in shock and there was panic obviously and openly etched across his facial expression. Yuri only needed that to know what she wanted to know, and she only nodded away in understanding as she added, "Don't worry. I've known it all along. He's gonna be my husband—of course I've done some researches beforehand.", she added a smile then, hoping to somehow put him at ease.

But it unfortunately didn't work at all as Akihito was still frozen on his spot, his eyes just followed her wherever she went even as she walked pass him towards the big mirror, looking at her own reflection in the mirror as she fiddled mindlessly on the cosmetics that were left on the mirror desk, "You know, this kind of marriage is… _not_ something every girl would want to happen in their life.", she said, catching the man behind her off guard.

"W-What do you mean?", Akihito asked, a bit warily and hesitantly.

She gave him a knowing look, "Asami Ryuichi may be the 'almost' perfect man on this entire planet, but with no feelings, I could imagine that this marriage would not work out.", the blond watched as she turned her body around to face him then, a clear frown drawing itself across her lovely features, "This loveless marriage is not something I really am hoping for."

Akihito kept his mouth shut even as she continued, "My father is a businessman like Asami Ryuichi is. Thus, those two become something like partners in crime in whatever industry they are currently running. Because of the successful ties and an unbreakable trust between the two, my father plans to improve their partnership by bonding me and him in a tie called marriage. An arranged marriage on top of that."

Something clicked inside his brain, "Why are you telling me all of this?", he had to ask.

Yuri glanced at him through the corner of her eyes as she answered, "I actually have a favor to ask of you."

"What is it?", he asked, feeling his curiosity nagging him annoyingly on the head.

She strode towards him and leaned closer, her face just inches away from his, as she muttered out, her eyes not leaving his for even a second, "you like him, don't you?"

She said it so lightly, so open and so raw for anyone to hear, but it got all the blood running towards his head in a horrifying speed it actually got his face to redden up, his heart pumping much faster than before to provide him the replacements for all the loss blood that had gone to his head, which was futile because all the replacements also went for his head but whatever—he didn't really understand biology to begin with. In fact, what he could understand right at that moment was the fact that future wife of Asami just fucking stated his feelings for the man out in the open; and she did it so _casually_ it pissed him off, "Where the hell do you get that?"

"It's written all over your face.", Yuri pulled back slowly, a slow smile started gracing on the beauty of her lips, "it says, 'Oh, I'm a heartbroken man because the one I love is going to get engaged to this bitch'," she laughs at that, "okay, not that vulgar, but you know what I'm saying."

"Then what do you want me to do?", Akihito counters her then, feeling the hot, white anger rising his temper to the clouds, "telling him I love him and get him to live a happily ever after life with me? It's all futile!", he backed away at that and only after he felt the hard surface of a table on the back of his hip did he slowly lower down his voice, the words that came out next from his mouth sounded so hopeless it triggered some unwanted emotions within him, "he's dead-set on marrying you."

Seeing his reaction, her heart grew larger with sympathy, and before she even realized what she was doing, she was already standing just beside him, touching his arm ever so softly with her palm, "He's not, if a certain kind of man stops him on doing so."

Akihito brought his vision towards her then, and it kind of choked him up uncomfortably as he questioned, "Why don't you want to marry him?"

"I told you earlier, I don't like loveless marriage like this," she twisted some curls of her hair, watching them ever-so-obediently wrapped around her fingers, "I also have someone I like, and of course I want to fight for him as well," she let go of the curls then, staring at them as they fell back onto their places which was her shoulders, "I will not let this kind of funny family tradition ruins my love life."

"Then...", the blond started, not really sure about how to phrase it out loud, "why don't you just tell your father to cancel the engagement?", the blond asked furiously, "I don't think this is something that you must do. You can just cancel it. After all, the engagement is one of hundred ways to bond a tie between two businessmen, right?"

"Nope. Can't do, Takaba - san.", she breathed out a little, "My father won't change his mind unless Asami does, Asami Ryuchi was like—a freaking God to him! Oh, and also,", she stopped a little before continuing, lips widened in a mischief smirk, "I want to know, what kind of person would willingly fight for a man as powerful as Asami Ryuichi."

She pushed herself off the table that she had been leaning against beside him and strode towards the door, saying, "I will give you the address of where the engagement will take place. You can either choose to come or not, be my guest. But make sure, you won't regret every decision you'll make."

As she reached for the door, Akihito stopped her, "Wait."

She turned towards him, "What is it?"

"Why do you look so happy when you tell the others about your marriage earlier even though you don't like it?"

Yuri only smiled, before finally landing her palm on the cold door handle and responded, calmly, "They told me to be happy in front of the camera. So, I did."


End file.
